By Ken MacLeod - Cape Breton Post

Joel Inglis is shown talking about credit unions and savings to students in Ghana. The Sydney resident is on a six-month work term in the African country as part of his MBA program studies at Cape Breton University.

Joel Inglis graduated from Cape Breton University in 2010 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and is currently completing work related to his studies in the masters of business administration program at CBU.

Through the MBA program, Inglis has done extensive research involving credit unions and the development of the co-operative sector. In September, he got a chance to put his education into action by travelling to Accra, Ghana, for a six-month term after a week of orientation and training in Ottawa with the Canadian Co-operative Association.

Inglis’s work term in Ghana is funded through the Canadian International Development Agency.

In Accra, Inglis has been working with the Credit Union Association of Ghana, talking to young Ghanaians about how they can become involved in savings programs and credit unions.

“It’s been very positive,” said Inglis in a recent telephone interview from Accra. “Whenever we do presentations, there’s myself and a local man named Ernest. He’s an ex-teacher, so he really knows how to engage the students.

“The students are very interested in learning and are very excited about their future. And when we go into the credit unions, they are also very excited about what new things they can do, and what things they can do to engage young people.”

Inglis’s days consist of travelling to schools and credit unions in and around Accra and talking to young people — high school students and junior high students — about the value of saving.

“With Ghanaian culture, saving hasn’t really been part of the culture for a long time,” he said. “And because the economy is growing so quickly, it’s becoming somewhat of an issue, so we are trying to help educate (the people) on the value of savings and the value of proper financial literacy.”

Inglis has been in the country long enough to see that the credit union model is a good fit for Ghana.

“It’s absolutely very practical, and it’s growing very quickly as well,” he said. “There are some very strong, very well organized credit unions in Ghana right now.

“I’ve been to a couple of annual general meetings and the people are very engaged. They want to know what’s going on, and the democratic process of it is very exciting.”

Inglis admitted Ghana hasn’t been quite what he expected.

“It’s absolutely nothing like I thought,” he said. “Coming from Canada, you kind of imagine Africa as being very poor, very dry. Ghana is nothing like that. It has a bustling economy and it’s very green — it’s almost the exact opposite of what I thought coming here. And most people speak English, so you can get by with English pretty easily.”

Inglis found living in a foreign country to be a life-changing experience.

“I really think it’s changed my perspective on what people are capable of, especially with democratic processes and the democratic movement, and getting people engaged and getting them excited about learning new things.

“It’s been a fantastic experience. If anyone has the opportunity to experience working in a new country and a new culture, they should do so. It benefits you in so many ways.”

Joel Inglis is shown talking about credit unions and savings to students in Ghana. The Sydney resident is on a six-month work term in the African country as part of his MBA program studies at Cape Breton University.